Rayan Cherki made no secret of his disappointment at being left out of Manchester City's starting lineup against Bournemouth, but his response from the bench proved decisive. Coming on to help turn defeat into victory, the 23-year-old demonstrated exactly the kind of reaction his manager wants to see.
Four months ago, Cherki dazzled his way through the Arsenal defence and scored what could have been the deciding goal in the Premier League title race. It was a big moment in the biggest game for a young man who had catapulted himself among the best players in English football in just his first season.
From that point, Cherki had to suffer the disappointment of City not winning the league as their title charge fizzled out. The World Cup did not go to plan either, with the 23-year-old struggling to get on the pitch and also struggling to hide his frustration over that.
Maresca on Cherki's character
As Enzo Maresca described on Sunday after Cherki came off the bench to turn defeat into victory for the Blues, he is not the sort of personality that reacts well to being told he cannot do what he wants. "Rayan is quite a nice and clear boy, if he is not happy he wants to show it," he said.
"If he's next to me and he's not happy, you all realise that he is not happy because he is doing anything just to show that he is not happy. I know that he was not happy today but at the end I had to take a decision."
For some, that could spell alarm bells. City have just aired their own initial concerns about Cherki's character in a four-part Amazon documentary and it is essential for the squad that those who aren't playing support their teammates and continue to give their all.
Guardiola's challenge to fringe players
Yet, to go to another highlight of what is such a revealing documentary, Pep Guardiola was clear with his fringe players after their 2-0 defeat against Leverkusen. "F****** hell, guys, everyone has to feel. 'I'm going to show them and I'm going to win the game. I'm going to show this f****** b****** of a manager that I'm better than the other guys'," he said after making ten changes to his selection.
"At the end, it's a competition between the guys. Where is the competition today? I feel sad guys."
Cherki did exactly that against Bournemouth; as Maresca said afterwards, "what they have to do when they don't play from the start is what Rayan has done today, just be ready, go on and try to do your best." In other words, no problem.
History of angry City heroes
One of City's greatest ever comebacks - the 3-2 against Aston Villa to win the league in 2022 - came in part because Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko were all steaming that they hadn't been given a start. Gundogan, one of the most loyal players to Guardiola, was particularly angry about that day and became the biggest hero.
Riyad Mahrez and Joao Cancelo are two others who made no secret of their unhappiness when they didn't play and at times it did cost them minutes, but they were also capable of channelling it in the right way. Both had incredible success at the Etihad that would not have been possible without that.
What is also important to consider is that Maresca spent the last days of his summer in Barcelona running through the squad he was about to inherit with Guardiola. While he likes to give fresh eyes to a situation, he could not resist the knowledge that Guardiola had built up of a squad that is almost completely different to the one Maresca left in 2023.
Those discussions were less about ability and more about character - which players reacted well when they didn't play, which ones really didn't, and so on. There is a reason that Cherki is being embraced while others have been allowed to depart this summer.
Recruitment under the microscope
City's recruitment is increasingly under the microscope as a growing number of players that they bought to rebuild the squad in the last two years are sold on. Something has gone wrong when new recruits are leaving so soon rather than staying to fight for their place; only Nico Gonzalez appears to be in the camp where he has put up a fight to stay.
As angry or upset as he may be when he doesn't start, Cherki's bad face is the best possible kind - the one to come on and show the manager why he was wrong. If he can keep the passion, Maresca will absolutely love having him at City as one of the key transfers in the last few years that City have nailed.
